nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Yeah, my wife was able to grasp it really quick. She admitted that the setup time and the impression is more daunting than the game itself.
But thematically and mechanically, it's one of my top 5 games right now.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
New Board Gaming |OT2| On Tables, Off Topic
- Thread starter Karkador
- Start date
Yeah, my wife was able to grasp it really quick. She admitted that the setup time and the impression is more daunting than the game itself.
But thematically and mechanically, it's one of my top 5 games right now.
I think all the data is actually to the contrary on this. Smaller publishers tend to do very well when lots of campaigns are doing well.
I know that when Tammany Hall launched there were 5-6 of the largest KS of all time running concurrently. When we launched some of our other campaigns, KS was slower and we did a fair deal worse, despite now having a fan base to market to which should have been a big help.
It's probably the normal thought process that big campaigns suck up dollars for small campaigns, but I think the reality is that big campaigns bring eyes to the marketplace and the smaller publishers have more attention on projects than they would. Remember, a small publishers (which we used to be), biggest issue is their reach and ability to get attention and customers to notice their projects. Companies like CMON bring a ton of spotlight to KS, and KS does a good job of showing you similar projects while you are there.
I got a chance to play Elysium (3-player) last night and had a lot of fun with it.
Although the guy who won had a total of two cards transferred down to his Elysium. I was more concentrated on disrupting the other play who was starting to get a bunch of Athena cards that I didn't notice the eventual winner stocking up on Zeus. He kept getting VPs for each new Zeus card he took, + another bunch per transfer phase, + some more each turn with a tap/activate card. Then on the final turn he played Heracles which allows him to get an extra VP per 3 already on his board. Then another card that did pretty much the same thing, except now he had a bunch more VPs. And then he played another card that let him activate his Heracles again. Second and third place were 3 points apart, and first ended up 100 points higher than either of us.
Still fun though! I just need to pay more attention to what all opponents are taking next time.
Although the guy who won had a total of two cards transferred down to his Elysium. I was more concentrated on disrupting the other play who was starting to get a bunch of Athena cards that I didn't notice the eventual winner stocking up on Zeus. He kept getting VPs for each new Zeus card he took, + another bunch per transfer phase, + some more each turn with a tap/activate card. Then on the final turn he played Heracles which allows him to get an extra VP per 3 already on his board. Then another card that did pretty much the same thing, except now he had a bunch more VPs. And then he played another card that let him activate his Heracles again. Second and third place were 3 points apart, and first ended up 100 points higher than either of us.
Still fun though! I just need to pay more attention to what all opponents are taking next time.
It was a card game afternoon with my brother in law. Played two games of Space Hulk Death Angel, one of both 7 Wonders Duel and Tides of Time. All are short playing games that have just the right amount of decision making through out.
We lost both games of Space Hulk. Got to the 4th of 5 cards in the location deck in one game while in the other we were decimated in the air lock and finished off in the next location. Hard game but fun. Brother in Law won both 7 Wonders Duel and Tides of Time to repay my wins against him the last time we played.
We lost both games of Space Hulk. Got to the 4th of 5 cards in the location deck in one game while in the other we were decimated in the air lock and finished off in the next location. Hard game but fun. Brother in Law won both 7 Wonders Duel and Tides of Time to repay my wins against him the last time we played.
antiquegamer
Member
I somewhat agree with BattleMonkey, it's ridiculous that CMON is essentially using Kickstarter to extort money from gamers (or addicts) by throwing half of the exclusives stuffs in the game up on Kickstarter. There is no reason for them at this point to just publish game and release them like FFG.
I feel KS should be for project that are not very popular or niche product like said a special edition or reprint, games that otherwise would never got make. I don't think we should limit to just small company but when CMON is doing another Kickstarter on a proven projects it become just a pre-ordering system. I know I was warn here about KS and after costly lesson last year, I am more and more selective at what I am backing this year. I did get some really good game like Thunderbirds but there are so many duds like MIstfall and Edison VS Tesla and many delayed one like Zombicide BP and B-Sieged.
antiquegamer
Member
I almost pick this up this past weekend. We played a game of Castles of Mad King Ludwig and was told that Suburbia is even better.
Interesting -- I've heard mostly the opposite but I personally much prefer the theme of Suburbia so haven't tried Castles yet.
I like Ludwig a little more than Suburbia. The shopkeeper mechanic in Castles of Mad King Ludwig is a lot better imo. What I dislike about Suburbia is that stuff can pop up that you want and there's really no way to get it.
Gaming Truth
Member
They're very similar, yet fundamentally different. Suburbia is the better game mechanically, but Castles is the funner one. Both have janky mechanics (Suburbia/other cities; Castles/room bonuses) so it's not really that one's harder to play than the other.
If you believe the myth, Surbubia is for left-brain thinkers, Castles is for right-brain builders
never heard of it, but looking into it I will have to pass it on to my friend who has last will.
as for last will which that game integrates with... that game is decently enjoyable.
So latest game to arrive in my collection after I did a massive culling of the collection is Orleans.
Due to less time for gaming and several games that just never hit the table, my wife and I decided to sell a lot of our less played games.
Actually felt quiet good.
But we bought Orleans and man that game is fun. Nice simple Euro with a fun enginebuilder as the main mechanism.
Right now I only have one game on my wishlist: Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection. I have allways wanted to own a COIN game, but have been waiting for one that plays well with two, and this is suppose to be excellent even with two.
Due to less time for gaming and several games that just never hit the table, my wife and I decided to sell a lot of our less played games.
Actually felt quiet good.
But we bought Orleans and man that game is fun. Nice simple Euro with a fun enginebuilder as the main mechanism.
Right now I only have one game on my wishlist: Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection. I have allways wanted to own a COIN game, but have been waiting for one that plays well with two, and this is suppose to be excellent even with two.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
You know, I don't understand used game selling. Most people are asking the same or more than what CSI sells the games NEW for.
And that's why they sit unsold. Gamers consistently overvalue their games, you see it in sale lists all the time. With the big BGG.Con 'virtual flea market', the overpriced games just sit there for a couple of months unsold.
There is a flea market at Geekway where you just put your stuff on a table. First person is randomly drawn and they choose any game they want. Whoever's game they chose get's to pick next and so on. The better your game is, the better chance you will have of going first. Forces you to truly value what the game is worth to you.
I will say it's impressive how much you can get for a game if you go on ebay. Then there's the hassle of ebay, and also shipping costs can be a pain too sometimes if you don't estimate properly. I don't know why they are so close to CSI new prices either but I'm not complaining. Actually I should probably get another batch of games to put up soon.
I feel like maybe 100-150 is probably the right maximum number even if you're com crazy about games, and I'm over that by a few dozen right now.BattleMonkey
Member
EH and AH are similar games, EH just feels like a streamlined version of AH, to me it's better simply cause it's a much faster experience. AH is great, but much more detailed and it's a meaty game that can take long to play.
Mansions of Madness is more like a dungeon crawler mixed with some AH concepts using the lovecraft theme. MoM is a decent game, it actually plays quick, but it's biggest problem is that it's an overly complex game to set up, the amount of components involved in the game is ridiculous for a game that really plays fairly quick. Just setting up the board, all the tokens, piles of specific cards for a scenario, populating all the tokens, prepping the puzzles.... it can take over half hour just to set up. It's alot of work for a game that really can be played in 45 min. So with set up and take down, you feel you spent more time just prepping the game than actually playing it. MoM is fun game, but it is also a pain to play.
I remember now why I don't use amazon for bigger books :/
I ordered Agents of SMERSH: Showdown! from them, got it today, my brand new copy looks like a second hand store find :/
of course they also forgot to ship the other half of my order, so that's fun too. on the plus side they don't think they shipped my second half either so it's not my word against theirs *sigh*
and people wonder why I always talk about how amazon has gone downhill. (edit: actually I just got the second half of my order via fedex and amazon's site has no clue what is going on)
EH has the rules cleaned up and is streamlined in that way (thus easier to learn how to play), but I haven't had an experience that makes it a faster game than AH beyond that. In fact historically my AH games have been faster. (about 2 hours for AH vs about 2.5 for EH)
I ordered Agents of SMERSH: Showdown! from them, got it today, my brand new copy looks like a second hand store find :/
of course they also forgot to ship the other half of my order, so that's fun too. on the plus side they don't think they shipped my second half either so it's not my word against theirs *sigh*
and people wonder why I always talk about how amazon has gone downhill. (edit: actually I just got the second half of my order via fedex and amazon's site has no clue what is going on)
EH has the rules cleaned up and is streamlined in that way (thus easier to learn how to play), but I haven't had an experience that makes it a faster game than AH beyond that. In fact historically my AH games have been faster. (about 2 hours for AH vs about 2.5 for EH)
I will say it's impressive how much you can get for a game if you go on ebay. Then there's the hassle of ebay, and also shipping costs can be a pain too sometimes if you don't estimate properly. I don't know why they are so close to CSI new prices either but I'm not complaining. Actually I should probably get another batch of games to put up soon.
I'm sitting at around 90. Trying to keep it near 100.
i should do a count sometime...
I might have over 100 now... but a number of those I picked up for work for dirt cheap.
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
I am at 79 owned according to BGG but given the massive retail therapy splurge I had on board games recently I have no idea how many of them I shall wish to keep long term. I have been thinking of culling a few recently actually but it is a nice low number reassuringly.
really I need to find some local people to sell/trade with. shipping is so much on many games that it would be expensive to ship :/
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
That would be ideal really. I don't know where you are but here in the UK our national postal service is extortionate for anything over about 2kg IIRC. My friend and FLGS owner is always moaning about them when sending his ebay parcels out. He has to use a dedicated courier for anything not small and light.
quick look on USPS it seems that your average board game (talking games like dead of winter and what not) would be around $10 to ship (I deemed it 5lbs and it came out to 9.85)
and if I can ship multiple at once a 12" x 12" x 5-1/2" flat rate box (that can be up to 70lbs) can be used for 18.75.
so I mean it's not the end of the world expensive but i mean if I wanted to sell tokaido (which I bought for $24) for a few about a 15% discount off current price ($30) because I played it twice but it is in perfect condition it would need to be around $25 after shipping, which if I could find a local buyer I could get pretty much all of my money back (i paid 5.5% tax on the item
), but if I have to ship I would take a nearly 40% loss on the item even though I bought it on a good sale :/it makes the clearing out of games much harder. I'm sure I could find some sort of meet up place if I really wanted. Though the only game I know for a fact I want to unload is Winter Tales right now (of major games I bought not at my store) as it's to complicated for what it is, and with agent's of smersh I just can't see myself playing it. The rest I would have to go through.
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
Yep, it's not as simple as say selling a video game online, that's for sure. Perhaps someone will come along who is looking for just that game though. You never know; life can be funny like that. Of the four games I am considering shifting 3 are Love Letter variants so no real problem there and ONUW because my group has zero interest in playing it :/. Well one member does but I can't stand him so he can whistle . I suspect I'll just hang onto that on the basis that I might be able to play it with a different group at some stage. It would be a pain to get rid of it and then decide one day I wanted it again. Oh and I have a similar issue with Legendary: Alien but that would be much pricier to post.
. I suspect I'll just hang onto that on the basis that I might be able to play it with a different group at some stage. It would be a pain to get rid of it and then decide one day I wanted it again. Oh and I have a similar issue with Legendary: Alien but that would be much pricier to post.quick look on USPS it seems that your average board game (talking games like dead of winter and what not) would be around $10 to ship (I deemed it 5lbs and it came out to 9.85)
and if I can ship multiple at once a 12" x 12" x 5-1/2" flat rate box (that can be up to 70lbs) can be used for 18.75.
so I mean it's not the end of the world expensive but i mean if I wanted to sell tokaido (which I bought for $24) for a few about a 15% discount off current price ($30) because I played it twice but it is in perfect condition it would need to be around $25 after shipping, which if I could find a local buyer I could get pretty much all of my money back (i paid 5.5% tax on the item
it makes the clearing out of games much harder. I'm sure I could find some sort of meet up place if I really wanted. Though the only game I know for a fact I want to unload is Winter Tales right now (of major games I bought not at my store) as it's to complicated for what it is, and with agent's of smersh I just can't see myself playing it. The rest I would have to go through.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
The problem tends to boil down to people over valuing their games. I was looking a Descent 2e, and the guy wants like $40+shipping for a used copy. I'm selling a game for like 20% off CSI with free shipping. That's sort of what you have to do if you're looking to actually sell and not trade.
E: Which is why if you're trying to MOVE a game, you almost have to trade it.
E: Which is why if you're trying to MOVE a game, you almost have to trade it.
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
Thanks for that. I was thinking of trying out BGG's math trade system but have to decide what to shift first.
hunchback
Member
I know the game is for at least 2 people. Do you think there will be a way to come up with solo rules? I love TMNT but I'm strictly a solo player because I'm bedridden. That pizza box was a great idea.
antiquegamer
Member
I will say it's impressive how much you can get for a game if you go on ebay. Then there's the hassle of ebay, and also shipping costs can be a pain too sometimes if you don't estimate properly. I don't know why they are so close to CSI new prices either but I'm not complaining. Actually I should probably get another batch of games to put up soon.
eBay get you the widest audience but I have stop selling on there due to getting rip off by buyer (filing false claim and doing charge back). eBay is never on seller side. I have never try to sell board game but I can imagine shipping would be very costly since many of them are pretty heavy. (I used to sell collectible toys Transformers etc.) Alternative to eBay or BGG, Amazon is another place that you can try to sell though you have to get a seller account. I sold a few things on Amazon relatively hassle free but that was couple years ago.
I just bought Above and Below KS edition and the seller charge me $8.00 for shipping when it arrived I look at his postage and it was $21.00. That said, I bought plenty of used board game from eBay if the price is good. I got the entire Arkham Horror (it was used but still pretty good) for $150.00 including shipping. I got Mage Knight for $38.00 used that look basically just have the shrink wrap removed, everything inside was still in the wrappers. (someone probably open the game and look at the rules and go "nope") Many of the casual gamers don't know about CSI and Miniatures Market but many buy stuffs on eBay so there is also that. I know when I first get back into board game hobby, I never heard of Cool Stuffs and stumble onto Miniatures Market by accident.
I am thinking about culling a lot of my 2 players game since my son move away and I just found out he will be in Italy for the next 3 years. Game like Netrunner, Star Wars LCG and Warhammer Conquest will never get play with my daughter.
Megalosaro
Banned
Playing the shadow vault mission in descent and getting our ass kicked.
We had to stop halfway through due to time but will resume next week.
Christ this is grim
We had to stop halfway through due to time but will resume next week.
Christ this is grim
I think it's still missing the one true great expansion from Tuscany, namely the board. Maybe they will sell that separately. Still got some great stuff in there though.
I imagine I will pick up Tuscany at some point.
TwiztidElf
Member
So I just lost a game of Catan and I was still on 2. I got to place first and banked hard on 8 and 9. I had the robber placed on my 8 early game and 9's didn't get rolled the entire fucking game. I managed to get longest road at one point, but that was taken by filthy card drawers. Considering I just came off a level of X-Com2 where I just got fucked over by the RNG and lost my entire squad, yeah I'm pissed off. No lottery tickets to be bought today.
woo and indeed hoo
Banned
Ouchie! I have days like that if it is any consolation. We played Zooleretto Mini the other day and I ended up with a score of minus eight or something. I haven't played any XCOM in awhile though but well remember how brutal it can be. I don't feel brave enough for X-Com 2 yet so can only empathise with you there. Better luck next time!
FWIW they are coming out with a strictly 2 player COIN game. Algerian Independence setting. Called "Colonial Twilight". Of course with GMT who knows when it will come out (SEpt-Dec 16 right now).
This happened with a few of my friends recently. Non-gamers I had gotten into gaming playing stuff like TTR, 7 Wonders, even Dead of Winter. It's really unfortunate that Catan is still the default go-to for semi-gamers to introduce non-gamers to gaming with. :/ Almost a universally sub-par experience (not just my own take, but per reports of others that have been subjected to it). About the only positive things I can really say about the game anymore are that it's better than house-rule Monopoly, and it was a really important and relatively decent game 15 years ago. Nowadays though there's almost no excuse to play it over hundreds of much better games for every circumstance. Unless you're one of those hardcore Catan World Championship people.
I still enjoy Catan. It's a good mix of dice randomness, area control, and negotiating with other players. It's a 'little bit of everything', without being too complicated.
Some people just aren't going to react well to dice games, and that's okay - but I'd try show them how they can control the other aspects of the game and not worry so much about the dice.
Some people just aren't going to react well to dice games, and that's okay - but I'd try show them how they can control the other aspects of the game and not worry so much about the dice.
I know a lot of people don't like the dice, but from the 3-4 groups of casual players I've talked to that hated it, that was never brought up. It was more the excessive length and just general dryness of the game. It kind of falls in that sweet spot of not being crunchy enough to be really engaging for hours, but being too long to be a good light/casual game. Stone Age and a lot of the early worker-placement titles kind of fall into the same category (though I like Stone Age much more). I can see the merit of the game though, and I know some people live and die by certain expansions and tweaks. I could see that. I just think as a gateway it doesn't come close to living up to the reputation it has.
While I played a stupid amount of Catan in a different time when I didn't know any better, I agree with everything here. If it were shorter I'd probably still play it. And that's coming from someone who loves long games...
cooltrainer
Member
Settlers has gone over really well every time I've introduced it. I think it probably works better as a 3-player game as an introduction. 4-player is somewhat cutthroat and the 3-player game plays really fast. One of the few games I bring out people immediately want to play again. I am puzzled by 7 Wonders myself. That game feels dry to me and has confusing iconography for new players. The first time I played with someone, after the game was done they asked, "okay what do we do next?" thinking the draft was just setup for a more interesting game.
Jables Swan
Member
I actually haven't played Catan for a long time but it's still one of my favourite games. It was the game to get me and my mates back into board gaming and we played a truck load of it.
One month player here! (I'm serious).
Actually, the first modern board game that I had contact was Zombicide, and although I liked the theme and the miniatures, well... the fact that you had "three possible actions" instead of "roll the dice to see what you will do next" was a giant shock for me, to the extend that I pretty much hated that system.
Now, one month, a few Catan sessions, a NeoGaf thread and cool users later, now I'm hungry for more information about new mechanics and new themes.
And as I go on with this new hobbie, I guess Catan is a very nice gateway, exactly because it introduce a few things while preserving the dice rolls.
Not only that, but as you play, you start seeing what does this game does wrong, and you actually start thinking critically about what it does wrong and what the next game should have.
And with that info, you can actually start tracing what the other players of your group want. I went ahead and bought Race for the Galaxy and Game of Thrones (boardgame), but I know that I'll really have to start with Catan, so that they can actually accept that there are better games than Risk and Monopoly.
By the way, my ultimate goal is to play Terra Mystica, haha! But... this process is needed, I guess.
BlewHedgehog
Member
Pretty great game night. I'm an ashamed man-child who doesn't know how to cook, so my crew of 4 started making a meal every Saturday night followed by Pandemic Legacy. Cooking is becoming less arcane and PL continues to be pretty good as well, although we're having so much success that we suspect we might be cheating somehow. We're through June with 6 wins and 2 losses (both came in March).
The filler games tonight were excellent. We opened with a few games of Fairy Tale, a decade old drafting game a la 7 Wonders where your cards get turned face down at various points and only the face up cards are counted at the end. It was a very good intro to drafting for the newbies among us. Haven't played Sushi Go, but I hear the comparison is justified.
Then, after Pandemic, we got Skull to the table finally. That game is good. Bluffing like you want to bid when you secretly had placed a skull facedown is the most satisfying feeling imaginable.
It's great getting some things scratched off the list of I played backlog games. Next week, I'd like to get in plays of Small World and Elysium.
The filler games tonight were excellent. We opened with a few games of Fairy Tale, a decade old drafting game a la 7 Wonders where your cards get turned face down at various points and only the face up cards are counted at the end. It was a very good intro to drafting for the newbies among us. Haven't played Sushi Go, but I hear the comparison is justified.
Then, after Pandemic, we got Skull to the table finally. That game is good. Bluffing like you want to bid when you secretly had placed a skull facedown is the most satisfying feeling imaginable.
It's great getting some things scratched off the list of I played backlog games. Next week, I'd like to get in plays of Small World and Elysium.
Polioliolio
Member
Any thoughts on Dungeonquest?
Sounded up my alley, but then watched the hilarious Dice Tower review. Man, Tom really hates the game.
Makes me worried that I wouldn't love it after all and it would be a waste of money. If there are any fans in here, can you try to sell me on it?
Alternatively, are there any Dungeony sort of games that might give the feel of Gauntlet or other dungeon related video games? I've been playing Dragon's Dogma on PC and have a hankering for some dungeon crawling. Preferably something that can be played in 1-2 hours and isn't a D&D style campaign. I saw something called Cave Troll that looked kind of neat, but I'm not sure if that would hit the spot.
Anyway, hook me up with your Dungeon crawling suggestions!
Sounded up my alley, but then watched the hilarious Dice Tower review. Man, Tom really hates the game.
Makes me worried that I wouldn't love it after all and it would be a waste of money. If there are any fans in here, can you try to sell me on it?
Alternatively, are there any Dungeony sort of games that might give the feel of Gauntlet or other dungeon related video games? I've been playing Dragon's Dogma on PC and have a hankering for some dungeon crawling. Preferably something that can be played in 1-2 hours and isn't a D&D style campaign. I saw something called Cave Troll that looked kind of neat, but I'm not sure if that would hit the spot.
Anyway, hook me up with your Dungeon crawling suggestions!
I love Dungeonquest but haven't played the new FFG edition.
Having said that, it is brutal. The rulebook admits that you have about a 15% chance of winning. We have had guys eliminated on their first and second turns!
So, you have to go in knowing that and having fun with it. Like Talisman, it is a game from the 80's that will always have a special place in my heart. Is it great as a modern game? That is a tougher question. Many people probably don't think so. Also, you should know that there is limited player interaction in Dungeonquest.